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Source: Tesco

Tesco has launched its first major marketing campaign for its rapid grocery delivery service Whoosh.

The campaign involves three TV adverts where “young urbanites” – a fitness fanatic, an indoor gardener and an underwater obsessive – remain “blissfully immersed in their happy places” thanks to the speedy arrival of their Whoosh delivery. The script for each film involves only a single, repeated word: Whoosh.

The TV spots – created by agency BBH – end with a voiceover giving a new tagline for the service: “Because going to the shops isn’t everyone’s bag”.

Supporting the commercials is an out-of-home and print campaign featuring the slogan on a brown paper delivery bag. The supermarket is also running a TikTok competition in collaboration with dancer Jay Scott, where viewers can share what they would rather do than go to the shops for a chance of winning £200 worth of Whoosh vouchers. The competition video, in which Jay gets a Whoosh delivery while teaching his dad a new dance, has amassed more than 32 million views to date.

“Some people would rather do anything else but go down the shops to get what they need for dinner,” said Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, deputy executive creative director at BBH. “Whether that is working out, watering your plants, or knitting an octopus poncho. Because going to the shops isn’t everyone’s bag.”

The campaign will run for four weeks.

Tesco launched the Whoosh service – which offers one-hour delivery for a flat £5 fee from 400 stores – quietly in 2021, from a single store in Wolverhampton. It is now available from more than half of Tesco’s estate of Express convenience stores and more than half of UK households can access the option.

While initially promising to fulfil orders within an hour – in line with Ocado’s rapid service Zoom – more than 90% of orders made through Whoosh arrive within 30 minutes. The campaign notes deliveries can arrive “from as little as 20 minutes”.

“While there might be a myriad of rational and relatable reasons for rapid grocery delivery – such as forgotten dinner items or emergency supplies – sometimes the truth is, you just don’t feel like going out,” Serradourada Guimaraes added. “That applies particularly to the young urbanites featured in the campaign. With buzzing social lives and hectic careers, they don’t always want to take a break from pursuing their passions because the need for groceries strikes.”